Ties that can be formed into closed loops are well-known and widely utilized in a variety of different industries to couple together two or more separate items.
For instance, in the electrical industry, ties are commonly utilized to bundle together a plurality of elongated objects, such as wires or cables, this type of tie being often referred to in the art as a cable tie or bundling tie. One style of cable tie which is well known and widely used in the art includes an apertured head disposed onto one end of an elongated strap. The opposite end of the elongated strap is typically shaped to define a tail of narrowed width that is adapted for fitted insertion through the apertured head to form a closed loop. A plurality of serrations, or teeth, is formed on one surface the elongated strap along a portion of its length. Additionally, an internal pawl, or locking tang, is provided within the apertured head and is adapted to sequentially engage the serrations on the strap. In this manner, the engagement of the internal pawl with the serrated strap is used to lock the cable tie in a closed loop configuration.
Cable ties of the type as described above are traditionally molded using a suitable plastic material, such nylon, polypropylene or the like. Most commonly, cable ties are constructed as unitary items that are formed through injection molding. However, an increasing number of cable ties are formed as two separately molded plastic components, this type of cable tie being commonly referred to in the art as a two-piece cable tie.
A two-piece cable tie is typically constructed with the head and the strap formed through two separate molding processes. Coupling of the separately formed components is typically achieved either by driving a fastening element (e.g., a rivet) through overlying segments of the two components or by insert molding one component (e.g., the head) around a portion of the other component (e.g., the strap). The aforementioned process of constructing a two-piece cable tie is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,855 to T. Shilale and U.S. Pat. No. 8,510,918 to T. Shilale et al., the disclosures of both references being incorporated herein by reference as are commonly assigned with the instant application.
In the retail industry, ties are also commonly utilized to secure an item, such as a toy, to its associated packaging, this type of tie being referred herein as a packaging tie. Packaging ties are commonly constructed as an elongated, unitary cord, or string, that is preferably constructed out of a recyclable and/or biodegradable material, such as a paper-based twine or string. In use, the cord is manually wrapped around and/or fed through openings formed in the objects to be coupled together and pulled tight. While holding the cord in a taut condition, the free ends are then manually formed into a knot to form the tie into a closed loop that reliably secures the items together. As an additional step in the process, a supply of tape may optionally be affixed to the packaging over the knot to prevent premature untying.
Although well-known in the art, the use of packaging ties of the type as described above has been found to suffer from a number of notable shortcomings.
As a first shortcoming, the aforementioned process of manually cinching and tying the free ends of the packaging tie is both labor-intensive and time-consuming. Accordingly, the use of conventional packaging ties has been found to increase packaging costs.
As a second shortcoming, the aforementioned process of manually cinching and tying the free ends of the packaging tie introduces a considerable variance in packaging tension. This variance in tension afforded by conventional packaging ties has been found to be unacceptable in certain applications.
As a third shortcoming, the process of ultimately untying or cutting a packaging tie is not only time-consuming and but also necessitates a certain level of manual dexterity. As a result, this difficulty in being able to separate a purchased item from its packaging often serves as a source of frustration for the end user.